UK heatwave approaches two-week mark
All UK nations have experienced recent heatwave conditions but in southern England, the heatwave has now continued for 13 days. Sarah Keith-Lucas looks at how unusual this spell of
By BBC News
The UK heatwave is approaching its two-week mark, with southern England experiencing 13 consecutive days of heatwave conditions. Places in southern England have recorded an unbroken run of 13 days above their local heatwave criteria, while Merryfield in Somerset reached 30.6C on Thursday .
This marks the longest spell of 12 consecutive days at or above 30C across the UK since 2006 . In Bournemouth and Heathrow, temperatures above 26C and 28C respectively have persisted for nearly two weeks .
Winds are expected to shift to a more northerly direction this weekend, bringing a slight dip in temperatures for many locations . However, heat health alerts issued by the UK Health Security Agency remain in force for nearly all of England until Sunday evening, with amber alerts covering the West Midlands and south-west and yellow alerts for the East Midlands, north-west, south-east, east of England and London .
While some cooler air will arrive, a few locations may see another few days of heatwave conditions before the spell potentially ends by next weekend . Temperatures are expected to heat up again next week, with heatwave criteria possibly met in more parts of the UK by Wednesday or Thursday .
The chance of rain is currently greater only at the end of the week and likely confined to southern England .